Tennessee, 1973

Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 27, 1973

May 27, 1973 · 6 events in 5 counties and zones

3 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$278,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
6

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

3 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Shelby

When
May 27, 2:18 AM CST
Where
Shelby County
Measured
58 kt (67 mph)
Coordinates
35.350, -89.870

Tornado, Shelby

When
May 27, 2:35 AM CST
Where
Shelby County
Rating
F2
Path length
2 mi
Path width
100 yd
Property damage
$25,000
Coordinates
35.330, -89.770

Tornado, Carroll

When
May 27, 3:36 AM CST
Where
Carroll County
Rating
F1
Path width
33 yd
Property damage
$3,000
Coordinates
36.020, -88.430

Tornado, Lincoln

When
May 27, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Lincoln County
Rating
F2
Path width
33 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
35.000, -86.330

Thunderstorm Wind, Campbell

When
May 27, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Campbell County
Coordinates
36.400, -84.100

Thunderstorm Wind, Hamilton

When
May 27, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Hamilton County
Coordinates
35.030, -85.200

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Tennessee in 1973Every state in 1973This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Tennessee, 1973

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10126519, 10126520, 10127373, 10127374, 10127375, 10127376.